Giles has written two books (see below) and is finishing a third which will be a workbook for the busy business person, exploring new ways of being and doing in organizations including different ways of operating and organizing. Two websites to take a look at are:

‘In every human organisation there is a tension between its designed structures, which embody relationships of power, and its emergent structures, which represent the organisation’s aliveness and creativity. Skillful managers understand the interdependence of design and emergence.’ Read More

As usual nothing is as straight forward as it might seem. I was reviewing the three areas that I believe most impact trust (consistency, transparency and mutual support) and realised that they were not the whole story. Each term needed to be balanced by another awareness Read More

So, how does someone trust your organisation when everything is constantly changing? Has anyone ever articulated what it is about your organisation that they trust? And what happens when those criteria (conscious or unconscious) change over time? Read More

At this cafe style event we explored our undertanding of trust with, and within, organisations. The conversations were guided by questions provided by Sally Bibb (author of’ Trust Matters’ and The Right Thing: A Everyday Guide to Ethics in Business’ and founder of Engaging Minds) and Professor Reinhard Bachmann (Professor of Strategy at the University of Surrey and Director of the Centre of Trust Research).

Why do people keep repeating that the core purpose of business is to make money? Sue George did it the other day in the Guardian. bit.ly/16YPL She said: “...the core purpose of any business is to make money – without profit there can be no corporate social responsibility (CSR)…“. This is a bit like saying that the core purpose of a human being is to eat, because without food people can’t be nice to others. Read More

In the past our view of the world (the Cartesian-Newtonian paradigm) allowed for the assumption that an organisation, and its operation, were knowable, predictable and controllable. Everyone knew what to expect in this ‘simple’ world. There was a basic common understanding that allowed for a form of trust in the organisation, in the community, and in society. For example, many of our organisations:

Assumed they were separate, independent entities in control of their own destinies.

Were focused on ‘harvesting’ freely available resources for their own short term benefit.

Maintained simplified, repetitive roles in their factories and offices, and encouraged a mono-culture.

Primarily focused on generating wealth for a single stakeholder (shareholders).

On Tuesday I attended an event that felt very significant. It was the first AGM of Riversimple, an eco-car company I am involved with. We are, in our humble way, trying to re-invent the auto industry. You can learn more about Riversimple here. We have been working on our project for many years but only recently implemented our new structure and this is what we celebrated on Tuesday.

This gathering may have been a world-first. I am certainly not aware of any other AGM where such a diversity of interests was represented. For Riversimple is a multi-stakeholder partnership, whose board is mandated to serve, protect and balance multiple interests. Read More